The ancient Greeks knew about magnets, and they knew about electricity, too. But it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that a connection between the two was discovered. Staff physicist Paul Doherty tells the story of how a professor made the connection…which led to modern motors.

Laurie Anderson is a groundbreaking American composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, and performance artist. She is celebrated for her multimedia performances and innovative use of technology in art. In this candid, in-depth interview from December 1984, Anderson talks about her very diverse inspirations, including her relationship to technology, her past lives, television, and handheld versus electronic instruments. She also plays samples of the music and sounds that fuel her process, as well as some of her own work

Laurie Anderson is a groundbreaking American composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, and performance artist. She is celebrated for her multimedia performances and innovative use of technology in art. In this candid, in-depth interview from December 1984, Anderson talks about her very diverse inspirations, including her relationship to technology, her past lives, television, and handheld versus electronic instruments. She also plays samples of the music and sounds that fuel her process, as well as some of her own work.

Philip Glass is an enduringly prolific composer, collaborator, intellectual, and one of the inventors of a type of music called minimalism. In this extensive and candid interview from 1988, Glass discusses many things including his involvement in world music, his innovative approach to rhythm, and his work with film and opera. He also talks about the people who have inspired him, including legendary composer, conductor, and teacher Nadia Boulanger and sitarist Ravi Shankar. The interview includes many samples of his musical work.

Philip Glass is an enduringly prolific composer, collaborator, intellectual, and inventor of a pedagogue Nadia Boulanger and sitarist Ranew kind of music now known as minimalism. In this extensive and candid interview from 1988, Glass discusses many things, including his involvement in world music, his innovative approach to rhythm, and his work with film and opera. He also talks about the people who have inspired him, including legendary vi Shankar, and the unique human narratives that he finds inspirational. The interview includes many samples of his musical work.

In November 2009, Exploratorium After Dark welcomed particle physicist Dr. Austin Richards—aka Dr. MegaVolt. Under the Palace of Fine Arts rotunda, he jousted with a high-voltage Tesla coil, which generated 200,000 volts of electricity and shot 14-foot-long arcs of lightning through the air.

In recognition of the Exploratorium's 40th anniversary, join us for a special edition of our popular show, Iron Science Teacher. In this zany science cook-off, teachers compete before a live audience at the Exploratorium for the revered title, "Iron Science Teacher." The secret ingredient will be something closely related to our anniversary!

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the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Jim Clark
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